Vallombrosa is a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

abbey in the ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of Reggello (Tuscany, Italy), about 30 km south-east of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

, in the Apennines, surrounded by forests of beech and firs. It was founded by Florentine nobleman

Giovanni Gualberto Giovanni Gualberto (c. 985 – 12 July 1073) was an Italian Roman Catholic abbot and the founder of the Vallumbrosan Order. Born into a noble family, Gualberto was a predictably vain individual who sought pleasure in vanities and romantic intri ...

in 1038 and became the mother house of the

Vallumbrosan Order The Vallombrosians (alternately spelled Vallombrosans, Vallumbrosians or Vallumbrosans) are a monastic religious order in the Catholic Church. They are named after the location of their motherhouse founded in Vallombrosa ( la, Vallis umbrosa, shad ...

. It was enlarged around 1450 and took on its current appearance at the end of the 15th century. In 1529, after the looting by

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

, the east tower was built. Between 1575 and 1578,

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He wa ...

was educated there and then withdrawn by his father, before taking orders, and moved to Pisa to study medicine. In the 17th century the walls were erected, and in the 18th century the fishing ponds dug. Today the monastery is open to tourists and its "Antica Farmacia" sells local produce such as herbal teas and liqueurs made following antique recipes. Among these is the rare and legendary Dry Gin of Vallombrosa. On 7 October 1096, Pope Urban II addressed the congregation of Vallombrosa, imploring the religious amongst them to support the cause for a crusade to the Holy Land. In particular in this sermon, he cited the need for knights, who could "restore the Christians to their former freedom".¹ Largely because of his poetic reference to the "autumnal leaves that strow the brooks, in Vallombrosa" in '' Paradise Lost'', John Milton is supposed to have visited the monastery and, according to a plaque erected during the Fascist era, actually stayed there. Though this is unlikely, the notion that he did so encouraged many later travelers to visit the place, including William Beckford, J. R. Cozens,

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...

, Crabb Robinson,

Frances Trollope Frances Milton Trollope, also known as Fanny Trollope (10 March 1779 – 6 October 1863), was an English novelist who wrote as Mrs. Trollope or Mrs. Frances Trollope. Her book, '' Domestic Manners of the Americans'' (1832), observations from a ...

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...

, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Friederich Nietzsche. The Anglo-Italian monk, Enrico Hugford, became Abbot of Vallombrosa in 1743 and fellow Catholic,

John Talman John Talman (July 1677, King's Street, Westminster – 3 November 1726, London) was a British antiquary and art collector. He was the eldest son of William Talman and his wife Hannah. From 1709 to 1717 he toured in Italy, collecting antiquiti ...

, seems to have visited even earlier. Derek Walcott also mentions Vallombrosa in chapter 33 section 2 of his
Omeros
'. Derek Walcott has allusions to severa

throughout the ''Omeros'', and Shmoop suggests that this reference was inspired by John Milton. Partly thanks to the influence of the pioneering American ecologist and author of the 1864 ''

Man and Nature A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...

'',

George Perkins Marsh George Perkins Marsh (March 15, 1801July 23, 1882), an American diplomat and philologist, is considered by some to be America's first environmentalist and by recognizing the irreversible impact of man's actions on the earth, a precursor to the ...

, the Istituto Superiore Forestale Nazionale was founded in the secularized monastery in 1867.

The exterior

The exterior retains the 12th century belltower and a 15th-century tower. It maintains a sobriety appropriate for a monastery. It is a walled precinct, accessed through an 18th-century gate. The facade was designed (1637) by Gherardo Silvani who completed designs by Alfonso Parigi; Silvani also completed the facade of the church (1644).

The church interior

The interior of the church was frescoed (1779–1781) by G. A. Fabbrini. The main altar has an ''Assumption'' by the Volterrano, The altar of the left transept has a ''Trinity'' by

Lorenzo Lippi Lorenzo Lippi (3 May 1606 – 15 April 1665) was an Italian painter and poet. Biography Born in Florence, he studied painting under Matteo Rosselli. Both Baldassare Franceschini and Francesco Furini were also apprenticed with Rosselli, the ...

; other altarpieces are by Agostino Veracini, Antonio Puglieschi,

Niccolò Lapi Niccolò Lapi (Florence, c. 1667–1732) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Tuscany. He is described as a follower of Giordano,Cesare Dandini and in the chapel of San Giovanni Gualberto, a fresco by Alessandro Gherardini, the

scagliola Scagliola (from the Italian ''scaglia'', meaning "chips") is a type of fine plaster used in architecture and sculpture. The same term identifies the technique for producing columns, sculptures, and other architectural elements that resemble inla ...

altar was

Ignazio Hugford ''A miracle of St. Francis of Paola'' by Hugford. Ignazio Hugford, or Ignatius Heckford (1703–1778), was an Italian painter active mostly in Tuscany in an early Neoclassic style. Life and work Ignazio Hugford was born in Pisa, the son of a ...

, a canvas by

Antonio Franchi Antonio Franchi (1638–1709) was an Italian painter of the 17th century, active mainly in Florence and Lucca. Born in Villa Basilica, he is also called ''Il Lucchese''. Initially training in Lucca with Domenico Ferrucci, he moved for over ...

. Offertories before this altar were made by members of the Forest Service who have San Giovanni Gualberto as their patron saint. The wooden choir to the right of the main altar was fashioned by Francesco da Poggibonsi (1444–1446); the reliquary has the arm of the saint who founded the Vallombrosan order by Paolo Sogliano (1500). The sacristy has an altarpiece by

Raffaellino del Garbo Raffaellino del Garbo (1466 – 1527) was a Florentine painter of the early Renaissance. Biography His real name was Raffaello di Bartolomeo dei Carli. He was also known as Raffaello Capponi after his adoptive family. The appellation "del Garb ...

depicting San Giovanni Gualberto and other saints (1508), and a great terracotta altarpiece from the studio of Andrea della Robbia; the refectory has a series of canvases by

(1745); the antirefectory has a large painting by

Santi Buglioni Santi Buglioni, byname of Santi di Michele (1494 - 27 November 1576) was an Italian sculptor, the nephew and collaborator of Benedetto Buglioni. After Luca della Robbia had moved to France to escape the plague, the Buglioni family inherited from ...

and a cycle of paintings (three triptychs) by Mario Francesconi.

The Museum of Sacred Art

Inaugurated in 2006, the museum is located on the right side of the abbey complex. It houses works of art such as the 15th-16th century ''Altoviti Set'' with embroidered fabric, the great altarpiece by Domenico Ghirlandaio and workshop (Madonna with Child and Four Saints), a selection of paintings, and the

s by the 18th-century abbot Enrico Hugford (brother of the painter Ignazio).

Other activities

The spruces of the closest forest of Vallombrosa were used in the 15th century to build up the first Italian Masonic Lodge in via Maggio,

. In 2017, the Vallombrosa Abbey hosted the

Italian Red Cross The Italian Red Cross (IRC, it, Croce Rossa Italiana or ''CRI'') is the Italian national Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff w ...

national meeting on its history.

References

* * Chaney, Edward, 'Milton's Visit to Vallombrosa: A Literary Tradition', ''The Evolution of the Grand Tour: Anglo-Italian Cultural Relations since the Renaissance'', 2nd ed. (Routledge, 2000), pp. 278–313. * Salvestrini, Francesco, ''Santa Maria di Vallombrosa. Patrimonio e vita economica di un grande monastero medievale'', Firenze: Olschki, 1998. * Salvestrini, Francesco, ''Disciplina caritatis. Il monachesimo vallombrosano tra medioevo e prima età moderna'', Roma: Viella, 2008. * Salvestrini, Francesco, ''I Vallombrosani in Liguria. Storia di una presenza monastica fra XII e XVII secolo'', Roma: Viella, 2010.

External links